I taught my Reiki student her second degree course and included my daughter. A teacher does not judge whether or not a person is suitable in personality or spirituality for attunement to Reiki. The more they work with it the more they receive, so you trust the energy as the deciding factor for genuine Reiki practitioners. I practised meditation, self treatments and self empowerments regularly which enhanced my use of it and the strength of the energy. My first Reiki student received positive results from her treatments and practices.

During 2006 our home was added to the property market. We viewed a beautiful converted chapel on an ancient crossroads at Poundstock near Bude in Cornwall. The garden had a small patio area adjacent to the graveyard and the sea is visible in the distance about two miles from the garden. On the walls inside the chapel there were visible indentations where builders had filled in some of the arched windows.

There was a beautiful stained glass arched window above the front entrance too. We hoped that our property would sell in time to purchase the chapel and were delighted when someone made an offer on our home only six hours after it was advertised. Unfortunately the buyer was after another property that was withdrawn from the market and he used ours as a bargaining tool with the owners. The property then re-appeared on the market and the buyer pulled out of purchasing ours. Another buyer made an offer for the chapel which was accepted, so it seemed it was not meant for us after all and our search continued.

In March 2006 we attended the Devon and Cornwall Pagan Conference. The couple we met via the Egyptian group and another male friend travelled down from London to spend the weekend with us at the Conference. Our male friend was a member of the couple’s occult meetings and also a follower of our former Morris team.

Image – Diary of an internet nobody

On Friday evening we listened to a popular folk singer who performed in the lounge bar of the venue. Our American friend frequently left the table to return to his chalet and I discovered from his partner he was still in communication with members of the rock band commune. Apparently he kept contact hoping he would be reimbursed with the money he had given them. Our American friend wasthen a member of a coven in Devon and introduced us to his high Priestess at the Conference. I recognized her from the Nordic group who performed the closing ritual at the first Cornwall conference I attended. My American friend would travel from London to Devon for rituals or meetings and if late he would receive a scourging. He accepted this punishment as karma for past life mistakes. The priestess and her husband wore fetish attire and her husband’s T-shirt had ‘Master’ written upon it. They spoke openly about their lifestyle and although she were the priestess of the coven, it was obvious she was under the control of her husband in their relationship.

The Conference Deity Competition.

On Saturday the main competition was ‘dress as your favourite deity’ and proved to be popular. I entered the competition as Sekhmet and my husband assisted me in constructing a golden sun disc as a headdress. I wore a long satin crimson nightdress for her gown and my female friend from the Egyptian group gave me a large golden ankh to hold. I applied face paints, as a Leo with feline features and make up artist qualifications it was not difficult for me to create the correct image. The contestants formed a queue by the stage and were interviewed by a renowned Pagan man who was also joined by the wise woman as compere. I hoped she would interview me, but when she saw a dark Goddess approaching her she laughed and passed me on to the other compere.

A man with long hair and a beard dressed as Cerunnos made a huge impression by wearing tiny undergarments covered in leaves and small horns upon his head. The audience laughed as he sidled onto the stage and the comperes found it difficult to interview him without signs of amusement. We knew then that he would win, as the competition was judged by the amount of cheers from the audience!

The day ended with the closing ritual. The male compere was a member of the Golden Dawn tradition and this method of working fascinated me. The chants are evocative and the powerful presence of four giant Archangels at the quarterly directions is powerful as they are huge figures. He encouraged the audience to participate with chants to raise the energy and the Sekhmet costume I wore seemed to enhance my experience during this ritual.

In the evening I sat with friends at a table in the large hall. The alcohol flowed and I awaited livelier music to dance to. I invited the Devon high priestess to join me on the dance floor and she did so. I met the elderly priest of the Cornish magical group as he was always one of the first on the dance floor. He reminded me of a Morris dancer as his hat and waistcoat were adorned with colourful ribbons. When we returned to our table, the Devon priestess’ husband seemed upset because she had left the table to dance without asking permission. They began a serious discussion and I left them to it.

Later that evening the couple from the Egyptian group joined me on the dance floor along with their occult group member. The throbbing beat of the music and the spirit of the dance took over my body and I was unaware of another person who had been watching……….Suddenly the wise woman was close beside me, dancing and smiling. She enjoyed the way I moved and I was delighted to see that she was friendly towards me. I ‘turned up the heat’ as I danced which pleased her as I was aware she flirted with women at Conferences. They enjoyed the attention and I could see why. There was momentary contact as we swayed together and then she disappeared from the dance floor and did not reappear for the rest of the evening.

During our journey home the following day, I thought about the wise woman. It seemed she made a habit of ‘toying’ with women before disappearing. I vowed that if she approached me at the next Conference I would be ready for her!